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European Commission Targets Unemployment with New Initiative: ‘New Skills and Jobs’

The recently issued initiative aims to reddress the European job market by targeting both unemployment and taking measures to equip Europeans with the right skills. 23 million people are currently unemployed across the EU – 10% of the active population – which seriously undermines Europe’s economic performance. Some sectors, notably IT, health and research are more susceptible to shortages of skilled workers.The European Commission wishes to tackle these issues through 13 key actions that aim to help workers gain the skills necessary to respond to future market requirements, support workforce mobility, improve working conditions, reform labour markets and facilitate the job creation process.

The proposal to introduce measures that can enhance both public and private investment in training and education is welcome and should stress that ICT is required as the cornerstone for skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling in all sectors of the economy.